A Benton man charged with murder in a shooting at a Reidland storage facility in June faces a trial next year on March 16.Jeffrey Conrad, 49, is accused of killing Garlon Casey Cox, 30, of Benton, after he allegedly caught Cox and Brandon York, 36, also of Benton, stealing items from his unit June 8 at AAA Mini-Storage on Eagles Nest Drive.Conrad appeared in McCracken Circuit Court for the first time Friday since he was granted permission to act as co-counsel to Doug Moore, a local public defender. The decision to allow Conrad to partially represent himself was made during a hearing last week.At Friday's hearing, the defense addressed a motion filed Aug. 14 to dismiss the indictment against Conrad, on the grounds that Conrad was "immune from prosecution" because he fired his .45 caliber pistol to protect another. According to the motion, Conrad stated at the scene that when confronted, Cox had gotten into the driver's seat of a Ford pickup truck and tried to flee in reverse. Conrad stated the truck was moving in the direction of his ex-girlfriend, who was there that morning.The document adds that Conrad's statements to the police and similar statements made to a local television station, plus July 21 testimony at a bond hearing from Detective Capt. Matt Carter saying he had no evidence to dispute Conrad's account of his actions that day, fall under the purview of justifiable use of deadly force.Since Conrad was indicted by a specially convened grand jury without a preliminary hearing, no evidence has been presented to prove the murder charge was warranted. To preserve the indictment, the commonwealth has to prove there was sufficient probable cause using evidence, statements and police reports to justify the charge. The prosecution and defense submitted sealed evidence, meaning it's not for public record, to the judge on Friday for him to consider while making his decision.Should McCracken Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach side with the defense and dismiss the indictment, the case against Conrad would also be dismissed.If that occurs, Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said, to continue pursuing the case, his only recourse would be to appeal the judge's decision. Before doing so, however, Boaz said his office would have to examine the judge's ruling and see whether there were grounds for an appeal.Needing time to review the evidence, Kaltenbach gave the prosecution until Sept. 4 to file a brief outlining arguments against dismissing the indictment. The defense will then have seven days to file its own brief. Kaltenbach said he would make his decision the following week. A pretrial conference was set for 1 p.m. on Dec. 4.Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.